101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB5172

 

Introduced , by Rep. Joyce Mason

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
505 ILCS 80/3  from Ch. 5, par. 55.3
505 ILCS 80/14.5 new

    Amends the Illinois Fertilizer Act of 1961. Requires the Department of Agriculture to develop and implement a grower training program for the safe handling of anhydrous ammonia. Provides that a grower must complete the training program before using anhydrous ammonia. Provides that upon completion of the training program, a grower shall be designated a certified competent attendant and provided with documentation attesting to his or her completion of the training program. Allows growers to complete equivalent training programs that have been approved by the Department. Requires anhydrous ammonia training every 3 years. Provides for the adoption of rules. Defines terms. Effective immediately.


LRB101 18487 CMG 67938 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5172LRB101 18487 CMG 67938 b

1    AN ACT concerning agriculture.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Fertilizer Act of 1961 is amended
5by changing Section 3 and by adding Section 14.5 as follows:
 
6    (505 ILCS 80/3)  (from Ch. 5, par. 55.3)
7    Sec. 3. Definitions of words and terms. When used in this
8Act unless the context otherwise requires:
9    "AAPFCO" means the Association of American Plant Food
10Control Officials.
11    "Adulterated" shall apply to any fertilizer:
12        (i) that contains any deleterious or harmful
13    substance, defined under the provisions of this Act or its
14    rules or regulations, in sufficient amount to render it
15    injurious to beneficial plant life, animals, humans,
16    aquatic life, soil, or water when applied in accordance
17    with directions for use on the label;
18        (ii) when its composition falls below or differs from
19    that which it is purported to possess by its labeling;
20        (iii) that contains unwanted crop seed or weed seed.
21    "Anhydrous ammonia" means the compound formed by the
22combination of 2 gaseous elements, nitrogen and hydrogen, in
23the proportion of one part of nitrogen to 3 parts of hydrogen

 

 

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1(NH3) by volume. Anhydrous ammonia is a fertilizer of ammonia
2gas in compressed and liquified form. It is not aqueous ammonia
3which is a solution of ammonia gas in water and which is
4considered a low-pressure nitrogen solution.
5    "Blender" means any entity or system engaged in the
6business of blending fertilizer. This includes both mobile and
7fixed equipment, excluding application equipment, used to
8achieve this function.
9    "Blending" means the physical mixing or combining of: one
10or more fertilizer materials and one or more filler materials;
112 or more fertilizer materials; 2 or more fertilizer materials
12and filler materials, including mixing through the
13simultaneous or sequential application of any of the outlined
14combinations listed in this definition, to produce a uniform
15mixture.
16    "Brand" means a term, design, or trademark used in
17connection with one or several grades of fertilizers.
18    "Bulk" means any fertilizer distributed in a single
19container greater than 100 pounds.
20    "Certified competent attendant" means a person who has full
21knowledge of the characteristics of anhydrous ammonia, its safe
22handling, and safety rules for transfer and application, based
23upon successful completion of the anhydrous ammonia training
24program created under Section 14.5 or an equivalent training
25program approved by the Department.
26    "Consumer or end user" means the final purchaser prior to

 

 

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1application.
2    "Custom blend" means a fertilizer blended according to
3specifications provided to a blender in a soil test nutrient
4recommendation or to meet the specific consumer request prior
5to blending.
6    "Custom blender" means any entity who produces and sells
7custom blended fertilizers.
8    "Deficiency" means the amount of nutrient found by analysis
9less than that guaranteed that may result from a lack of
10nutrient ingredients or from lack of uniformity.
11    "Department" means the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
12    "Department rules or regulations" means any rule or
13regulation implemented by the Department as authorized under
14Section 14 of this Act.
15    "Director" means the Director of Agriculture or a duly
16authorized representative.
17    "Distribute" means to import, consign, manufacture,
18produce, store, transport, custom blend, compound, or blend
19fertilizer or to transfer from one container to another for the
20purpose of selling, giving away, bartering, or otherwise
21supplying fertilizer in this State.
22    "Distributor" means any entity that distributes
23fertilizer.
24    "Entity" means any individual, partnership, association,
25firm, or corporation.
26    "Fertilizer" means any substance containing one or more of

 

 

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1the recognized plant nutrient nitrogen, phosphate, potash, or
2those defined under 8 Ill. Adm. Code 210.20 that is used for
3its plant nutrient content and that is designed for use or
4claimed to have value in promoting plant growth, except
5unmanipulated animal and vegetable manures, sea solids, marl,
6lime, limestone, wood ashes, and other products exempted by
7regulation by the Director.
8    "Fertilizer material" means a fertilizer that either:
9        (A) contains important quantities of no more than one
10    of the primary plant nutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphate
11    (P2O5), and potash (K2O);
12        (B) has 85% or more of its plant nutrient content
13    present in the form of a single chemical compound; or
14        (C) is derived from a plant or animal residue or
15    by-product or natural material deposit that has been
16    processed in such a way that its content of plant nutrients
17    has not been materially changed except by purification and
18    concentration.
19    "Grade" means the minimum percentage of total nitrogen,
20available phosphate (P2O5), and soluble potash (K2O) stated in
21the whole numbers in the same terms, order, and percentages as
22in the guaranteed analysis, provided that specialty
23fertilizers may be guaranteed in fractional units of less than
241% of total nitrogen, available phosphate, and soluble potash
25and that fertilizer materials, bone meal, manures, and similar
26materials may be guaranteed in fractional units.

 

 

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1    "Grower" means any individual who produces an agricultural
2commodity on property the he or she owns or controls.
3    "Guaranteed analysis" means the minimum percentages of
4plant nutrients claimed in the following order and form:
5        A. Total Nitrogen (N)...............................%
6           Available Phosphate (P2O5).......................%
7           Soluble Potash (K2O).............................%
8        B. For unacidulated mineral phosphatic materials and
9    basic slag, both total and available phosphate and the
10    degree of fineness. For bone, tankage, and other organic
11    phosphatic materials, total phosphate.
12        C. Guarantees for plant nutrients other than nitrogen,
13    phosphate, and potash may be permitted or required by
14    regulation by the Director. The guarantees for such other
15    nutrients shall be expressed in the form of the element.
16    "Investigational allowance" means an allowance for
17variations inherent in the taking, preparation, and analysis of
18an official sample of fertilizer.
19    "Label" means the display of all written, printed, or
20graphic matter upon the immediate container or a statement
21accompanying a fertilizer.
22    "Labeling" means all (i) written, printed, or graphic
23matter upon or accompanying any fertilizer or (ii)
24advertisements, Internet, brochures, posters, and television
25and radio announcements used in promoting the sale of
26fertilizer.

 

 

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1    "Lot" means an identifiable quantity of fertilizer that can
2be sampled according to AOAC International procedures, such as
3the amount contained in a single vehicle, the amount delivered
4under a single invoice, or in the case of bagged fertilizer,
5not more than 25 tons.
6    "Low-pressure nitrogen solution" means a solution
7containing 2 per cent or more by weight of free ammonia and/or
8having vapor pressure of 5 pounds or more per square inch gauge
9at 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
10    "Misbranded" shall apply to any fertilizer:
11        (i) with labeling that is false or misleading in any
12    particular;
13        (ii) that is distributed under the name of another
14    fertilizer product;
15        (iii) that is not labeled as required by this Act or
16    its rules; or
17        (iv) that purports to be or is represented as a
18    fertilizer, or is represented as containing a plant
19    nutrient or fertilizer unless such plant nutrient or
20    fertilizer conforms to the definition of identity, if any,
21    prescribed by regulation.
22    "Mixed fertilizer" means any combination or mixture of
23fertilizer materials designed for use or claimed to have value
24in promoting plant growth.
25    "NREC" means the Nutrient Research and Education Council.
26    "Official sample" means any sample of fertilizer taken by

 

 

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1the Director or his or her agent and designated as official by
2the Director.
3    "Per cent" or "percentage" means the percentage by weight.
4    "Registrant" means the entity that registers fertilizer
5and obtains a license under the provisions of this Act.
6    "Specialty fertilizer" means a fertilizer distributed
7primarily for nonfarm use, such as home gardens, lawns,
8shrubbery, flowers, golf courses, municipal parks, cemeteries,
9green houses and nurseries, and may include fertilizer used for
10research or experimental purposes.
11    "Ton" means a net weight of 2,000 pounds avoirdupois.
12    "Unit" means 20 pounds or 1% of a ton of plant nutrient.
13(Source: P.A. 97-960, eff. 8-15-12; 98-756, eff. 7-16-14.)
 
14    (505 ILCS 80/14.5 new)
15    Sec. 14.5. Anhydrous ammonia training program. The
16Department shall develop and implement a grower training
17program for the safe handling of anhydrous ammonia. A grower
18must complete the training program developed under this Section
19before using anhydrous ammonia. Upon completion of the training
20program, a grower shall be designated a certified competent
21attendant and provided with documentation attesting to his or
22her completion of the training program for the purposes of
23using and handling anhydrous ammonia. A grower designated as a
24certified competent attendant under this Section shall be
25required to undergo anhydrous ammonia training at least every 3

 

 

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1years. A grower may be designated as a certified competent
2attendant if he or she completes a program equivalent to the
3program developed under this Section that has been approved by
4the Department. The Department shall adopt rules necessary for
5the implementation and administration of the training program
6developed under this Section.
 
7    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
8becoming law.